In ricordo della moglie Ann, scomparsa sei anni fa, David Garland ha cercato e trovato conforto nelle emozionanti indagini sonore di Verdancy e Vulneraries, condotte e condivise con il figlio Kenji nel corso di un doloroso processo di elaborazione personale. Ora si sente pronto a riprendere la parola, e lo fa in un album dove ritrova la forma canzone a lui più cara: The Spark.

"What is there to say after your partner dies? In my case I had a lot to express, but words weren’t always the best language. I made instrumental music, I made photographs of sunlight. I grieved, I existed, I took care of my cats. And, tricky thing, I stayed alive and had new experiences. My wife Anne died (cancer) six years ago, and that’s a significant period of time. Enough time to learn to walk and talk, if you started as a baby. For me, it was enough time to start dating, which may be more challenging than walking and talking. Songs have always been a special place for me to talk about stuff, because they can address, express, and imply so many things at once. Ideally a song creates a poetic situation in which meanings bounce off one another, accumulating in a reverberence that coheres to the listener’s contours. A couple months ago these songs rather suddenly happened."

https://davidgarland.com/music

In ricordo del caro amico e collega Guy Klucevsek (1947-2025), e registrato in studio nei giorni che di pochissimo ne hanno preceduto la morte, Elliott Sharp e William Schimmel pubblicano per zOaR The World Is A Pleated Bellows, loro terzo capitolo insieme: "We might not understand why something we’ve played is tragic or funny but in this world there was no problem recognizing that it was indeed tragic or funny."

The latest collaboration from the duo of accordionist William Schimmel and multi-instrumentalist Elliott Sharp. Of Schimmel, Tom Waits once said: "He doesn't play the accordion, he IS the accordion." Sharp's polymathic talents stretch from composing to improvising to instrument building. The two make gnarly music, engaging but simultaneously bending or breaking the rules.

https://williamschimmelelliottsharp.bandcamp.com

In ricordo del grande Sven-Åke Johansson (1943-2025) il londinese Cafe Oto pubblica in digitale e in doppio cd per la propria etichetta, Otoroku, il resoconto di due speciali serate ideate e organizzate dal Nostro ad aprile dello scorso anno con la partecipazione di Pierre Borel, Seymour Wright e Joel Grip: Two Days at Cafe Oto.

When asked to play at Oto last year, Johansson proposed two nights with four musicians half his age - alto saxophonist Seymour Wright, his fellow [Ahmed] member and double bassist Joel Grip, and French alto saxophonist Pierre Borel. Grip and Borel both played alongside Johansson in Stumps; Wright had previously recorded a trio with Johansson and Grip almost a year earlier in Johansson’s Berlin studio - due to be released later in the year via We Jazz as The Jazzy Stork. A quartet of two saxophones, bass and drums sounds like jazz, but all four players perpetually reach outside of the genre for inspiration.

Sven-Åke Johansson was a man of intention with a touch of melodrama and it kept his music from drying out. Amidst the great volume of German Free Music in the 1970s, Johannson's first solo LP Schlingerland (1972) swishes cymbal and snare, tom and hi-hat, sometimes almost imperceptibly. Skin, metal, plastic and wood, always in a tank of developer; quite melodic, beautifully concentrated. Fifty years on, Borel, Grip and Wright continue this gradual investigation of music and there are no better collaborators for Johannson. All three can shred jazz into its microparts, can swing, can groove and shriek. Over Two Days at Cafe Oto, buoyed by Johannason’s light touch, a sort of minimalist bebop emerges - the last track dividing and multiplying melodic fragments until its motifs print the inside of your skull. It’s totally luxury music - full freedom, full commitment. If it doesn't hit the first time, you’re sure to come back for it. We’re blessed it was recorded and grateful to have shared in this music. Thank you, Sven-Åke Johansson.

http://www.sven-akejohansson.com
https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/sven-ake-johansson-two-day-residency
https://youtu.be/8qjc38tdAVo
https://otoroku.bandcamp.com/two-days-at-cafe-oto

"Un grido s'avvicina, attraversando il cielo. E' già successo prima, però niente di paragonabile a ora." Al drammatico incipit pynchoniano di Gravity's Rainbow - cui si rivolsero a suo tempo anche i Cassiber di A Face We All Know - ruba il titolo l'album When A Screaming Comes Across The Sky di Mike Cooper ora su Room40, in accordo con Lawrence English che tutto il ricavato delle vendite sarà devoluto in beneficenza ad associazioni palestinesi e a sostegno del movimento internazionale della Croce Rossa e della Mezzaluna Rossa. Scrive Cooper: "I made these pieces in the first two weeks of June 2025 as Israel continued (and continues) to commit war crimes in Gaza and the rest of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and then, with the full support of most of the western worlds governments, with its attacks on Iran. Dedicated to Thomas Pynchon and all friends and colleagues displaced or missing since 1948 in this on-going tragedy that should never have happened in the first place."

https://www.cooparia.com
https://room40.bandcamp.com/when-a-screaming-comes-across-the-sky

Torna a farsi vivo Gilad Atzmon con un album intriso di blues, spiritualità, nostalgie e speranze: Praying for More Songs to Come, registrato a febbraio dell'anno scorso in forma acustica con il suo quartetto comprendente Daniel Bulatkin, Taras Volos e Dušan Černák.

Praying for More Songs to Come is the result of the second tour of Gilad Atzmon's European 4tet. It was captured in half a day the old school way. Recorded purely acoustically together in one room and without editing, it resembles the 60's era Impulse and Blue Note Records. Inspired by the spiritual side of Coltrane, as well as melodies from the Middle East, the group evokes Gilad's legendary group Orient House Ensemble. The album presents original compositions as well as the standard My Old Flame. The pieces are very open without much written-out material, allowing for maximum spontaneity and interplay. The pieces tell a story from start to end, reflecting on the musicians' nostalgia for the "good old days" in music and yearning for a more prosperous and stable world that sadly seems to be slipping away.

https://danielbulatkin.bandcamp.com/praying-for-more-songs-to-come

Dalla babelica collezione di casa Chadula esce un concerto inedito del 1977 tenuto da Eugene Chadbourne in uno degli storici avamposti canadesi delle musiche d'avanguardia ideato e gestito da un nucleo di artisti fin dai primi anni Settanta, il Western Front di Vancouver. Si intitola appunto Live at the Western Front 1977 e contiene imprevedibili/improbabili versioni di brani di Wadada Leo Smith, Oliver Lake e Dave Holland, oltre a suoi originali, tutti proposti alla chitarra acustica utilizzando tecniche estese non convenzionali ispiratrici per una moltitudine di altri musicisti amici e colleghi, specie newyorkesi - uno tra tutti, Zorn - promotori di lì a poco di un proprio distintivo approccio innovativo all'azione/composizione musicale. Bruce Lee Gallanter di Downtown Music Gallery a New York ne coglie lo spirito e il fondamento precursori di un'intera stagione: "The essence of the early Downtown approach was the easing of boundaries between categories like genres, downtown & uptown, serious & silly, expressive & confusing while making music which speaks to us on a different level than what we usually expect. Someone out there might consider this to be not music, but noise, uninteresting or without purpose, but I hear much more going on here. I can see/hear that Eugene Chadbourne had already developed a unique approach to playing a few years earlier than most of us noticed. This is an important release for those of us who have been checking out Downtown sounds for a long time as well as newcomers."

https://eugenechadbourne-documentation.squarespace.com

Richard Williams racconta in Farewell to Bra Tebs la splendida serata di ieri in memoria di Louis Moholo-Moholo. In perfetta sintesi: "Of the celebration of the life of Louis Tebogo Moholo-Moholo at a packed 100 Club last night, it need really only be said that the whole evening was suffused with the indomitable spirit of the great South African drummer."

https://thebluemoment.com/2025/08/28/farewell-to-bra-tebs

Chi è a Londra oggi può ancora sperare di trovar posto al 100 Club per lo specialissimo concerto in omaggio a Louis Moholo-Moholo, dato che all'ingresso saranno disponibili una cinquantina di biglietti anche per i ritardatari. Ad attendere loro - e tutti gli altri, naturalmente - ci saranno il quintetto (o quartetto?) di Claude Deppa, Steve Beresford con Mark Sanders, Francine Luce, Larry Stabbins con Paul Rogers e Mark Sanders, Evan Parker, 4 Blokes Plus 1 ovvero Alexander Hawkins, Jason Yarde, John Edwards, Shabaka Hutchings con di nuovo Sanders, prima dell'inevitabile jam finale con saluto collettivo. Si entra a partire dalle 19.00.

https://the100club.co.uk/clubevents/louis-moholo-moholo-memorial

Doppio omaggio al compianto Louis Moholo-Moholo (1940-2025) nel numero di questo mese di Musica Jazz, con articolo retrospettivo e recensione dell'album Live in Foggia - con Keith Tippett e Larry Stabbins - pubblicato poche settimane fa dalla Ogun. Giusto in tempo per annunciare anche il concerto commemorativo di domani a Londra al 100 Club.

https://www.musicajazz.it/musica-jazz-agosto-2025
https://www.facebook.com/events/1771197683475124

Altro inedito di Derek Bailey che vede la luce in questi giorni è tratto dal concerto che tenne con John Stevens il 24 marzo 1989 a Londra, in un pub di Portobello Road: The Duke of Wellington, pubblicato da Confront Recordings su Bandcamp e disponibile anche in cd.

Scrive Steve Smith: "One more newly uncovered recording captures Bailey in full swing alongside another of his longtime comrades: percussionist and pocket trumpet player John Stevens, founder of the long-running Spontaneous Music Ensemble, and a pillar of the late-60s free improvisation scene in London. The Duke of Wellington, newly issued on Mark Wastell’s crucial Confront label, documents a 1989 performance at a modest London pub. Captured by mathematician and audio engineer Michael Gerzon, the recording is intimate and detailed, illuminating the magical connection between these players and the actual sinew involved in their bond. It's paradoxical, perhaps, to covet more and more documentation of musicians whose ethos was so fundamentally focused on the moment. Nevertheless, here’s hoping more such gems continue to emerge."

https://confrontrecordings.bandcamp.com/the-duke-of-wellington

Per Tzadik esce in questi giorni in doppio cd un importante e raro documento sonoro recuperato al meglio da una fragile audiocassetta fatta avere a Gavin Bryars la notte in cui morì Derek Bailey - Natale 2005 - e della cui esistenza all'epoca quasi nessuno sapeva. Si tratta dell'ultimo concerto pubblico del loro trio con Tony Oxley denominato Joseph Holbrooke, tenuto al celebre centro d'arte deSingel ad Anversa (Belgio) nel gennaio 2001: Last Live 2001-In Memoriam Derek Bailey and Tony Oxley.

Joseph Holbrooke was a legendary all-star ensemble from the mid Sixties dedicated to free improvisation. Comprising three of the most acclaimed virtuosos from the first generation of British improvisers - Derek Bailey, Gavin Bryars, Tony Oxley - little has been released, but they briefly reformed in 1998 and the studio recordings from that period were made available in 2006 on Tzadik as The Moat Recordings. Last Live 2001 is exactly that, their last live concert ever! Recorded in Antwerp in January of 2001, the ensemble is at their exploratory best in this newly discovered gem from the archives of composer/improviser maestro Gavin Bryars.

https://www.tzadik.com

Il lavoro ispirato all'artista Jay DeFeo (1929-1989) - e in particolare agli studi da lei condotti su una tazza in ceramica regalatele nel suo ultimo anno di vita da Ron Nagle, Seven Pillars of Wisdom - cui da tempo Zeena Parkins si è dedicata assieme al fidatissimo William Winant è ora in uno splendido album su Tzadik: Modesty of the Magic Thing.

Performing with veteran free improv percussionist William Winant, Zeena Parkins - probably one of the greatest living harpists - returns with a poetic, magickal set inspired by visual artist Jay DeFeo. Gorgeous, stirring sounds. Always reliable, whether she's working alone or with regular collaborators like Ikue Mori or Fred Frith, Parkins is an incredibly distinctive player. We can't think of many other artists who can make an instrument like the harp sound so different and so open-ended. And playing against Winant's microtonally-tuned set of bells and gongs she sounds fully refreshed, playfully following his resonant chimes with plucks and runs that skewer perceptions of the instrument. It's almost too easy to label Modesty of the Magic Thing as hypnotic, but Parkins has a way of casting a spell as you're listening - no doubt inspired by DeFeo's captivating and often illusory visual art, like her sculptural masterpiece 'The Rose', a huge dazzling starburst motif chipped out of paint. DeFeo was fascinated by the options offered to her by different media and different techniques, playing with photography and collage at the same time as paint and balancing her themes by offering differing versions of the same theme. Parkins' approach here can be viewed through a similar lens as she plays in shifting patterns, mirroring herself and Winant, and fixing odd, unexpected lines in her broad, bold compositions.  

https://www.tzadik.com

Uno dei primi documenti collettivi che tentò di cogliere in tempo reale la fremente scena downtown newyorkese tra la fine degli anni Settanta e i primissimi Ottanta, contribuendo non poco a darvi slancio e visibilità, fu realizzato con gran fervore - e pochissimi mezzi, sia tecnici sia economici - da Elliott Sharp, presentando a raffica Mofungo, The Ordinaires, The Scene Is Now, V-Effect, Crazy Hearts, The State, The Hi-Sheriffs Of Blue e I/S/M in un album divenuto a suo modo emblematico: Peripheral Vision: Bands of Loisaida, uscito nel 1982 per l'etichetta zOaR e ora rilanciato in digitale con suono leggermente migliorato. Ne racconta l'origine lo stesso Sharp in IrRational Musings: "The compilation album Peripheral Vision: Bands of Loisaida has just been remastered at 24-bit, 48K to enhance the sonics of music from nearly half a century ago that was recorded using whatever technology was available to a bunch of low-budget starving artists. Originally released on my zOaR label in September 1982, it presented music from the genre-smashing groups that blended post-punk rage with a sense of joyful experimentation encompassing new song-forms, raw noise, improvisation, poetic lyrics, elaborate orchestrations, and an attitude of "anything goes" reflecting the creative ferment of NYC's Lower East Side. Brian Eno's No New York compilation cracked the door on this scene and Peripheral Vision attempted to fling it wide open."

https://elliottsharp.substack.com/revisiting-peripheral-vision
https://peripheralvisionnyc.bandcamp.com

Quando l'anno scorso a giugno si annunciò l'addio di Jim Staley al ruolo di direttore artistico del Roulette a Brooklyn, New York dopo quarantacinque anni di incessante attività, con il contestuale passaggio di consegne a Matt Mehlan, si sottolineò anche che il trombonista e compositore non avrebbe del tutto abbandonato la 'sua' creatura, mantenendovi ancora - almeno per qualche tempo - la posizione di produttore e di ispiratore di successive iniziative. Lo si è ritrovato infatti felicemente protagonista un paio di settimane fa di due speciali serate assieme ad amici e colleghi di lunghissima data, Shelley Hirsch, Ikue Mori e Nava Dunkelman l'8 agosto, e poi Ned Rothenberg e Sylvie Courvoisier il 9 agosto. Entrambi i concerti sono stati trasmessi in diretta streaming e sono ora disponibili su YT.

Founded in a TriBeCa loft in 1978 as a laboratory and performance space where creative trailblazers and curious thinkers could share perspectives on current conversations, Roulette has grown into an internationally acclaimed nonprofit presenting organization, showcasing 120+ performances of experimental music, movement, and media each year and alongside an additional 150+ community and rental events in its 12,000-sq-ft state-of-the-art theater in Downtown Brooklyn. Roulette’s mission is to support artists and present performances of innovative music, movement, and media art; build audiences interested in experiencing new work; and trace the evolution of experimental performance in a freely accessible public archive. The primary ways that Roulette pursues its mission is by presenting and platforming artists whose work confounds expectations - with a focus on new and unusual work by living composers and performers - and using its extensive archive to highlight and contextualize historic work by significant artists, especially those who have been excluded due to systemic oppression.

https://roulette.org
https://roulette.org/event/staley-with-hirsch-mori-dunkelman
https://roulette.org/event/staley-with-rothenberg-courvoisier
https://www.youtube.com/@RouletteIntermediumNYC

Parte della ricerca su una (relativamente) giovane generazione di canterburyani intrapresa in tempi recenti da Phil Howitt, forte di una decina di sue interviste con alcuni diretti protagonisti via via pubblicate in Facelift, confluisce in un sintetico articolo sulla rivista Prog nel numero di questo mese: Innovative and Uncategorisable.

Born in the titular Kent city in the late 60s, the Canterbury scene spawned some of prog's most creative and quirky acts. From The Wilde Flowers and Soft Machine to Caravan and Gong, each had a distinctive sound and, in many cases, image that captured the hearts and minds of their followers. But the scene's impact didn't end in the 70s. Phil Howitt, Facelift editor and Hugh Hopper's biographer, explores the new breed of progressive acts inspired by it, both consciously and unwittingly, and unearths the secrets of the 'Canterbury chord'.

https://canterburyscene.com
https://www.facebook.com/prog

Stanco di firmare in modo sempre uguale le mille copie promozionali dell'edizione paperback del suo The Proof of My Innocence, annunciata per ottobre, Jonathan Coe ammette di averne siglata una in modo del tutto speciale. E ne fornisce la prova.

https://www.instagram.com/jonathancoewriter

Ad aprire il concerto di Louis Philippe al Water Rats di Londra lo scorso 12 luglio è stato un piacevolissimo set in solo di Stuart Moxham, a margine del quale si è fatto cenno a una possibile nuova collaborazione tra i due - dando così seguito agli album The Huddle House (2007) e The Devil Laughs (2020) - e soprattutto a una ripresa di pubblicazioni in proprio da parte di Moxham, dopo una pausa piuttosto lunga e sofferta, interrotta soltanto un anno fa con Fabstract. Di questo dà ora conferma l'annuncio di un suo nuovo album pronto a novembre - in doppia versione - di cui c'è già un primo assaggio su Bandcamp: Winter Sun.

Stuart Moxham was the main creative force behind legendary Welsh trio Young Marble Giants, whose Colossal Youth album is now considered one of the greatest and most influential albums of the post-punk area. Following the split of YMG, Stuart set up The Gist! with his brother Philip, before releasing records under his own name as well as collaborating with artists like Lydia Lunch, Barbara Manning and Louis Philippe, with whom he has recorded two duet albums, the second of which, The Devil Laughs, became a favourite of the BBC's Freak Zone. His songs have been covered by many artists, including Courtney Love's Hole (Credit In The Straight World) and Etienne Daho, who had one of his biggest hits with a French language version of the Gist!'s Love At First Sight.

https://moxham.bandcamp.com/winter-sun

Qualche giorno prima dello splendido concerto tenuto a Londra assieme a Louis Philippe e The Night Mail Dave Gregory ha preso parte a Swindon alla periodica convention dell'XTC Fan Festival, in programma quest'anno dal 20 al 22 giugno: la sua intervista pubblica con Thomas Walsh è ora online quale nuovo episodio di What Do You Call That Noise?, serie di podcast audio amorevolmente curata da ormai cinque anni da Mark Fisher, dove è agevole recuperare anche la puntata dello scorso aprile dedicata al quarantesimo anniversario di 25 O’Clock dei vertiginosi Dukes of Stratosphear. 

https://www.xtclimelight.com
https://whatdoyoucallthatnoise.transistor.fm

E c'è un bell'inedito di Phil Miller in duo con Fred Baker da (ri)scoprire trent'anni dopo, rimasto infatti senza titolo (Untitled Ballad) e purtroppo escluso dalla pubblicazione (postuma) di Double Up 2: è nella registrazione del concerto a Delft del 10 novembre 1995 diffusa in questi giorni al Phil Miller-The Legacy, accompagnata come sempre dalle preziose note di Aymeric Leroy: "This is a great recording of the duo from the time they were building up a new repertoire for a second album which, as we now know, was finished but remained unreleased during Phil’s lifetime, and only came out in 2022 thanks to Herm’s effort of getting the recordings transferred from the now obsolete ADAT format and mixed for release. The setlist included a number of pieces that would appear on Double Up 2, like Fred’s tribute to his father (also named Fred), Song for Big Fred, and Phil’s Adagio, but also two that would not, Phil’s Untitled Ballad and Fred’s Waltz for Morgan, inspired by his older daughter, of which Fred recorded a very different version (featuring another Softs alumni, Ric Sanders on violin) on Tom Leary’s 1997 album Calm Waters. I believe this is the first time the Miller-Baker version has been heard."

https://philmillerthelegacy.com/miller-baker-delft-1995

Un solo inedito di Dave Stewart in coda al brano Any Guru - che in origine non lo prevedeva - tratto da un concerto del 2009 a Tokyo assieme a Barbara Gaskin e Andy Reynolds. Con gli auguri di mezza estate!

Midsummer greetings from a sunny West Country! To celebrate the hot weather we thought we'd share a blazing keyboard solo with you. Dave explains: "While sorting through piles of musical media accumulated over many years, we recently stumbled upon some concert footage we thought might be of interest. When playing live we often extend the instrumental sections of songs to create space for improvisation and solos, and this Japanese video contains a good example - at the end of the song Any Guru (a track from our album Green and Blue) I play a solo over the instrumental playout. There's no solo on the album version of Any Guru, but that night I thought I'd give it a go. Faced with the options of playing a tasteful, melodic solo with an easy-on-the-ear keyboard patch or dialling up a massively distorted synth sound and going completely bonkers, I chose the latter - the red mist was definitely descending!" Check out the solo on our YT channel.

https://www.davebarb.com
https://www.youtube.com/@Stewart.Gaskin

Eccezion fatta per due piccoli inserti provenienti dalle prove del giorno prima, le registrazioni integrali del concerto di Hatfield and The North del 30 marzo 1990 effettuate per il programma Bedrock di Central TV sono ora disponibili con il titolo Live 1990 Unedited presso il Richard Sinclair Songs, ricomposte in forma più completa delle versioni diffuse a suo tempo dall'emittente televisiva di Nottingham o successivamente uscite in cd e dvd. Per quella che all'epoca fu vissuta come un'insperata reunion - in parte deludente, data l'assenza di Dave Stewart - si ritrovarono sotto i riflettori Sinclair, Phil Miller, Pip Pyle e Sophia Domancich: in scaletta Share It, God Song, Nan True's Hole, Keep On Caring, Shipwrecked, Calyx, Above and Below, Underdub, Chinese Whispers, Blott, Going For A Song, Cauliflower Ears, Halfway Between Heaven and Earth, Digging In e It Didn't Matter Anyway con tanto di fragoroso (ahimé finto) applauso finale.

https://richardsinclairsongs.bandcamp.com/live-1990-unedited

L'autore, Ian Thompson, fino a sette-otto anni fa poco o nulla sapeva della scena rockettara francese post sessantottesca, quella controculturale e più anticonformista, alternativa e innovatrice. Poi però ha preso a studiarla, con impegno. E con buon esito, come dimostra in Synths, Sax & Situationists - The French Musical Underground 1968-1978, bel tomo di cinquecento pagine pubblicato a Melbourne da Roundtable Books dove ora cita con competenza Lard Free, Fille Qui Mousse, Gong, Clearlight, Moving Gelatine Plates, Magma, Jac Berrocal, Étron Fou Leloublan, Un Drame Musical Instantané, Philippe Besombes e Heldon tra i molti altri, partendo dal maggio studentesco, dallo sviluppo della stampa indipendente e dalle vicende legate alla circolazione di materiali discografici autoprodotti. E dal festival di Amougies.

Dice Thompson: "Until April 2017 all I really knew of French music pre-Daft Punk was a list of half-remembered bands and soloists: Métal Urbain, Cerrone, Jean-Michel Jarre, Magma, Malicorne, Heldon, Gwendal... I did know and love Gong! But were they even French? I’d been to Paris quite a few times in the 10 years before Covid, but had rarely stepped into a French record shop. Strange for a musician and musicophile - but true. It was into Crocodisc on Rue des Écoles that I made my first serious foray. I was on a mission to find the French picture-sleeve 45 of See Emily Play, and in my search I stumbled across a whole rack of LPs labeled “Prog Français”. That was a new one on me - I vaguely knew of Magma and Heldon, but here was a whole section packed with French progressive and underground rock. It didn’t take me long to discover that the French underground music scene of the ’70s was incredibly fertile, producing brilliant music in almost every genre. After reading everything I could find written on the topic (obvious mostly in French), translating a multitude of articles (from Rock & Folk, Actuel, Pop 2000, etc), and interviewing more than 40 musicians from the scene, Synths, Sax & Situationists is finally ready."

https://french-underground.com
https://thee-roundtable.com/synths-sax-situationists

Pubblicate sul web una al giorno per un anno intero allo scopo di onorare quello che avrebbe potuto essere il novantesimo compleanno di Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016), le notazioni e le indicazioni suggerite da oltre trecento artisti interessati all'ascolto profondo e alle pratiche di concentrazione uditiva e sensoriale promosse dalla compianta compositrice sono ora raccolte anche in un volume fisico curato da Stephanie Loveless per Terra Nova: A Year of Deep Listening.

A Year of Deep Listening began as a 365-day online celebration of the legacy of ground-breaking composer Pauline Oliveros, and what would have been her 90th year. The Centre for Deep Listening at Rensselaer published one text score per day - online and across social media platforms - for 365 days. An expression of the Deep Listening community, the scores were created by over 300 artists, ranging from prize winning composers to ear-minded grocery store clerks; from those who worked closely with Pauline Oliveros for decades to those she never met.

https://paulineoliveros.us

Di alcune umane vicende riguardanti Zappa, pubbliche e private, si viene a sapere un po' di più leggendo la versione dei fatti (e misfatti) datane recentemente da Moon Unit, sua figlia maggiore, in Earth to Moon (White Rabbit, 2024), ora disponibile in italiano come Terra chiama Luna. Un viaggio folle e sincero con un padre di nome Frank Zappa (Mondadori, 2025). Non tutto propriamente splendido, e l'autrice non nasconde sfide e personali difficoltà affrontati anche solo nello scriverne: "I set out to humanize my father in a way his fans have never seen before and to ask the questions: What happens when the person you want to belong to you alone belongs to his art, himself and everyone else? Is genius worth the collateral damage? I used to say having Frank for a father was a bit like having Jesus as a dad – only I viewed his fervent flock keeping our lights on as my competition, and was outraged by the ones filling our earthly father’s coffers with unlimited blowjobs. Some of the surprises for me in writing the book were empathy for the villains in my life and for myself, along with the mortifying exposure and dismantling of faulty understandings and outdated beliefs. This memoir is a rock ‘n’ roll odyssey examining much of what broke me and broke me open growing up an inimitable icon’s daughter. There was no ghost writer. I was the sole ghost hunter. Personally and professionally this was the most difficult and ambitious thing I have done so far. If you are a fish-out-of water, black sheep, fly-on-the-wall, path-cutter, survivor, loner, or life lover, I hope it speaks to you in some lasting and beneficial way."

https://moonunit.com

Molte novità - una cinquantina tra inediti, rarità e versioni alternative - sono invece annunciate nelle edizioni da anniversario di One Size Fits All, album di Zappa che nel giugno 1975 precedette solo di qualche mese l'uscita con Beefheart, Bongo Fury. Brani divenuti immancabili in concerto (per esempio Inca Roads, Florentine Pogen, Andy e San Ber'dino), immagini di copertina indimenticabili di Cal Schenkel (soprattutto la mappa stellare sul retro, criptica e rivelatrice allo stesso tempo), lavoro di minor resa commerciale rispetto al precedente Apostrophe (’) ma di impatto sonoro superiore. Fu la prima volta che per le registrazioni multitraccia Zappa ebbe modo di utilizzare un 24 piste. E fu l'ultima volta che fu speso il nome Mothers of Invention, anche perché in quell'occasione tra infortuni, assenze, sostituzioni, tensioni e conseguenti abbandoni il gruppo andò davvero a rotoli. Cinquant'anni fa.

https://www.zappa.com

Chi tra i beefheartiani è rimasto deluso dalle poche novità contenute nelle recenti ripubblicazioni in formate deluxe di Clear Spot e The Spotlight Kid ha di che consolarsi con Trout Mask Replica Replica, una versione di Trout Mask Replica realizzata qualche mese fa dai cinque fratelli Minnick di Detroit, The 180 Gs, quale ultimo capitolo di una loro serie che li ha visti capaci di riprodurre a cappella - con precisione all'inverosimile - intere opere di Negativland, Cardiacs e Residents. 

A chi gliene chiede il motivo, uno di loro, David, sa come rispondere: "Why attempt an a cappella version of Trout Mask Replica is an excellent question (and one I kept asking myself every time I faced a section of music that seemed impossible to decipher or recreate). The 180Gs’ “thing” is making a cappella versions of albums which seem impossible. Part of the intent is to invite the question “Why?” and then only to answer it with “here it is; it exists”. After covering Negativland, Cardiacs and The Residents, Trout Mask Replica seemed to be the next (and probably last) logical step. The Gs make tribute albums of super-iconoclastic records and act as if it’s a normal thing to do. When I first considered the idea, it was so ridiculous and impossible that I found it too compelling to resist. Just the mere idea of an accurate a cappella version of Trout Mask Replica made me start giggling. Also, while it was extremely challenging, it was a ton of fun to make. For five and a half years I never had to ask myself “What should I work on?” whenever I had free time.

Trout Mask Replica is a unique record by any standards. None of the patterns or structures one finds in other rock/blues/pop/classical music are present on this album. It makes up its own rules from the ground up. Because of this, it took a while to decide how to approach it. Most “rock” (even complex or experimental rock) music can be paraphrased to some degree. If you recreate the chords, melodies and rhythms of a typical “song” it’s possible to change/add/delete a lot of elements without losing its soul. I finally decided that Trout Mask Replica had to be covered as accurately as possible; note for note, all the intentional and unintentional tempo changes, all of the parts where the instruments and vocals aren’t in sync with each other: it all had to be there. The soul of Trout Mask Replica resides in the perceived incongruence of the parts, the wild abandon with which is was executed and the complicated layers which don’t point to particular chord progressions (or to a few simultaneous chord progressions). This album could not be paraphrased without losing what makes it special.

I knew there was far more to this record than meets the ear on a surface level and wanted to find out what made it tick. I was not disappointed and now have an incredibly higher level of respect for this album and the band that created it. As it turns out, it has a lot in common with the music of Cage, Feldman, Berio, Xenakis and other composers I love. Also, the album has a huge cultural and historical significance. The short answer, however, is 'I just wanted to see if it was possible'. I was rarely convinced while working that it was."

https://davidminnick1.bandcamp.com
https://www.beefheart.com/the-180gs-trout-mask-replica-replica

Lo spassoso manuale pratico di Alan Jenkins, titolare dell'incomparabile Cordelia Records, che già nel 1994 (e ancor prima nel 1990) aveva consigliato e anche ammonito giovanotti di varie e belle speranze circa le gioie e i dolori nella vita di un gruppo pop - pur poco conforme agli standard - torna disponibile in edizione rivista e aggiornata alla luce delle mutate condizioni di contesto tecnologico, economico e socioculturale dell'industria musicale : How to be in a Pop Group.

https://mybook.to/AlanJenkins-HowTo

L'immagine di oggetti e utensili di casa bellamente disposti in piano poteva forse meritare la prima di copertina, tanto è immediato (e geniale) il richiamo a quella, celeberrima, di Ummagumma. Invece, per coerenza, è sul retro. E non è l'unica allusione ai Pink Floyd: Household Objects (and sundry massed gadgets).

After Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd were casting around for a new concept. What they came up with was to make an album using only household objects - but allowing manipulation and musique concrete techniques. They made a start and then abandoned the project. Now William Hayter and Barry Lamb - who brought you Miniatures 2020 - have decided to give it another go, commissioning a wide range of artists to scour their houses for sounds and organise them into compositions. Some pieces work because you can recognise the sources, others because you can't. Many participants assemble small orchestras of objects, a few stick to just one thing (water or, an egg-slicer) and always the objects are meticulously listed. Some contributors here are well known (The Residents, Steve Beresford, Mark Hewins etc.) others are not, making this also a sampler of new voices. It's informative, left-field and a bone fide curiosity and comes in a beautifully designed and illustrated package, with a 32pp booklet elucidating each track, a series of great art collages and a foreword by Nick Mason. 

https://tinyurl.com/HHobjects

Pubblicazioni sempre di pregio e di rilievo sono quelle della polacca Fundacja Słuchaj, che in questo periodo festeggia dieci anni di attività con una serie di offerte in cd a prezzo amichevole: in primo piano Ivo Perelman, Nate Wooley, Martin Küchen, Sylvie Courvoisier, John Butcher, John Edwards, Dominique Pifarely, Michel Doneda, Lê Quan Ninh, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Charlotte Hug e Tyshawn Sorey. E tra la più recenti uscite spicca uno splendido solo di Paul Rogers, Peace and Happiness.

https://fsrecords.net

Anche la Confront Recordings di Mark Wastell sforna titoli a tambur battente, diffondendoli in formato digitale via Bandcamp e, pur se in tiratura limitata, anche in cd: tra quelli più recenti si segnalano Ephemeral Locations di Udo Schindler con Paul Rogers, Live at Cafe Oto del quintetto Wunderkammer con Jan Bang e David Toop tra i componenti, l'immaginativo Clastic per opera di Cheryl E. Leonard, Tom Djill e Bryan Day riuniti con nome Euphotic e Poznań: Appropriate Density con John Butcher, Phil Durrant e Wastell ripresi dal vivo in Polonia lo scorso ottobre.

https://confrontrecordings.bandcamp.com

Procedono a ritmo spedito le pubblicazioni curate dall'eccellente Jazz in Britain, e non si tratta solo di documenti amorevolmente recuperati da epoche passate: a fianco di importanti inediti che arricchiscono le storie ufficiali - con qualche retroscena - di Tony Coe (The Buds of Time), Kenny Wheeler (The Endangered Species), Paz (Variation and Creation) e Geoff Castle (Impressions of New York) ci sono infatti lavori di recentissima realizzazione tra cui il debutto di Neil Charles (Dark Days, in quartetto con Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders e Cleveland Watkiss sui testi di James Baldwin) e lo splendido ritorno di Larry Stabbins con Paul Rogers e di nuovo Mark Sanders nel trio Sarost (Aurora, registrato pochi mesi fa, a gennaio). Tutto disponibile anche in cd tramite Bandcamp.

A not-for-profit organisation, whose aim is to collect, curate, preserve, celebrate and promote the legacy of British jazz musicians. The archive collects, curates and preserves off-air and other recordings of British jazz performances. The organisation publishes books, vinyl, CDs and downloads, working in partnership with musicians and their families.  

https://jazzinbritain1.bandcamp.com

Mai ripreso dopo la sua uscita in LP nel 1973 - fu il secondo dei titoli in catalogo della storica etichetta Cadillac voluta da John Jack e Mike Westbrook - torna ora in cd Original, eccellente duo di Stan Tracey e Mike Osborne, con audio restaurato e apparato grafico quanto più possibile fedele a quella prima edizione.

Original was the second release by Cadillac Records in 1973 and came about through the involvement of Mike Westbrook with the label - Osborne was of course the fiery alto player in Mike’s groundbreaking Concert Band and came to Cadillac with a duo recording with legendary pianist Stan Tracey. John Jack snapped it up! Reissued for the very first time, remastered from the original tapes and available digitally.

https://stantraceymikeosborne.bandcamp.com/original

Una rapida occhiata al reparto novità del WestbrookJazz è sufficiente per capire quali e quante iniziative si prospettano nelle prossime settimane per Mike e Kate Westbrook, tanto sul fronte delle pubblicazioni di importanti documenti discografici, molti dei quali inediti, quanto sul fronte delle apparizioni dal vivo. Con almeno due date certe per l'autunno: la Band of Bands di nuovo in scena a Torquay (il 23 novembre) e il Westbrook-Blake in versione corale a Londra (il 20 dicembre). E un nuovo brano consegnato a Marcus Vergette per la sua tenace campagna per far restaurare le campane della chiesa di Highampton carissime a una comunità che per la prima volta le sentì suonare nel XIV secolo.

https://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/mikewestbrook/news.shtml

T.V.? Mais Oui!

"...lo stile per lo scrittore, come il colore per il pittore, non è una questione di tecnica, ma di visione. È la rivelazione, che sarebbe impossibile attraverso mezzi diretti e coscienti, della differenza qualitativa esistente nel modo in cui il mondo ci appare, differenza che, se non ci fosse l'arte, resterebbe il segreto eterno di ciascuno." E' il brano che Caroline Kraabel trae e traduce all'istante dal Tempo ritrovato di Marcel Proust, capitolo conclusivo della Recherche, dialogando con voce e sassofono con le vibranti (e involontarie) percussioni metalliche di Luigi Marino una sera di giugno nella contea dell'Essex: Temps Retrouvé.

https://carolinekraabel.bandcamp.com/temps-retrouve

Tra i suoi album più recenti c'è un avvincente dialogo con John Butcher (This Is Not Speculation, Fundacja Słuchaj) e uno spettacolare monologo pubblico (Lisbon Solo, Robalo Music), mentre tra sue uscite più attuali ci sono i concerti londinesi ieri e oggi con Steve Beresford e Ståle Liavik Solberg al Ryan's N16 in Stoke Newington e con Zoh Amba e Mark Sanders al Cafe Oto in Dalston. E proprio al Cafe Oto tornerà a ferragosto con un suo speciale programma di tre giorni: John Edwards.

https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/john-edwards-three-day-residency

Sono disponibili tramite WeGotTickets i biglietti per lo specialissimo concerto che si terrà a Londra al 100 Club il prossimo 27 agosto quale omaggio di colleghi e amici al compianto Louis Moholo-Moholo (1940-2025). Per ora si sa che interverranno Claude Deppa, Steve Beresford, Larry Stabbins, Evan Parker, Mark Sanders, Paul Rogers, John Edwards, Alexander Hawkins, Jason Yarde, Francine Luce e Shabaka Hutchings, ma la lista è destinata ad allungarsi. Informazioni presso Ogun e FB.

Louis Moholo-Moholo, a legendary South African drummer, passed away June 13 in Cape Town, South Africa. He was 85. Born Louis Tebogo Moholo on March 10, 1940, Moholo-Moholo formed The Blue Notes with Johnny Dyani, Mongezi Feza, Chris McGregor, Nikele Moyake and Dudu Pukwana, a group that championed free-jazz with an African sensibility during the 1960s and ’70s. The group fled the oppression of South Africa in 1964, eventually settling in the United Kingdom and becoming key members of the British jazz scene of the ’60s. “Louis was more than just South Africa’s greatest living jazz drummer - he was a revolutionary rhythm-maker, a sonic freedom fighter and a keeper of ancestral memory,” said fellow South African drummer Kesivan Naidoo. “He carved sound from silence and turned drums into language, prayer, protest and poetry. Every beat he struck carried the thunder of exile, the ache of home and the joy of resistance. He did not simply play music - he channeled it.”

A family statement noted, “Louis was more than a pioneering musician - he was a mentor and a friend. As a drummer, composer and fearless voice for artistic freedom, Louis inspired generations through his groundbreaking contributions to South African and global jazz. From the townships of Cape Town to the stages of London and beyond, his rhythms spoke of resistance, liberation and the boundless power of creativity.”

https://wegottickets.com/event/669285

Apre stasera - eccezionalmente di lunedì - il celebre Vortex a Londra per ospitare un concerto di Larry Stabbins con Alexander Hawkins e Mark Sanders fortemente voluto per offrire un primo omaggio londinese al compianto Louis Moholo-Moholo e nel contempo ufficializzare l'uscita del cd Live in Foggia di Stabbins con Keith Tippett e appunto Moholo-Moholo appena prodotto dalla Ogun. Sarà l'occasione per ricordare con affetto anche una delle più tenaci sostenitrici dell'etichetta e del club stesso, Shirley Thompson, scomparsa lo scorso febbraio.

Recorded in Italy in 1985, Live in Foggia is a valuable record of a unique trio playing at the very top of their game. Larry Stabbins, after years of playing with many of the greatest improvising musicians of the 60s and 70s (John Stevens, Chris McGregor, Keith Tippett, Mike Westbrook, Tony Oxley etc) had recently exploded onto the pop world with the bands Weekend and Working Week and was quite famous in Italy. Both Louis and Keith are in their prime here, and the level of playing by all three is off the scale. The album takes on an extra resonance with the recent passing of our friend, the great Louis Moholo-Moholo, five years to the day from the death of Keith Tippett and this trio especially assembled to celebrate the album will play an impassioned tribute to Keith and Louis. We are also taking this opportunity to celebrate the life of a great friend to the label, and the Vortex. Shirley Thompson, partner to John Jack, was a regular member of the Vortex audience with John - they had their own table and attanded every week for many years until John’s death and Shirley’s illness. Shirley passed away this year and many members of the community will remember her with affection and want to commemorate her life and commitment to the music.

https://www.vortexjazz.co.uk//larry-stabbins-ogun-records
https://ogun3.bandcamp.com/live-in-foggia

Musiche di Fred Frith composte nel più tremendo periodo dell'emergenza Covid con uno sguardo al cielo californiano ancora memore dei terribili incendi del 2020: insolite anche ai propri occhi ('Quite unlike anything I've ever written'), eseguite da un ensemble francese di soli sassofoni, tromba e tromboni (Kill Your Idols), registrate in studio prima e dopo la sola e tuttora unica presentazione in concerto al Festival Météo di Mulhouse il 26 agosto 2021. Sono su Bandcamp: Orange Skies (l'envol ne finit jamais).

"Orange Skies (l’envol ne finit jamais) was commissioned in 2020 by l'association pépète lumière in partnership with the Festival Météo in Mulhouse, France and DRAC/Aide Ecriture. It was premiered at the Festival Météo on August 26, 2021. The recordings that make up this version were recorded in advance of the rehearsals for this performance and shortly afterwards. It was never performed again. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the musicians of Kill Your Idols for their commitment to this music, which was far from their usual way of working!"

https://fredfrith1.bandcamp.com/orange-skies-lenvol-ne-finit-jamais
https://freddymorezon.org/lenvol-ne-finit-jamais

Sono due di seguito gli appuntamenti più prossimi con Bob Drake e le sue impareggiabili dirette streaming da Caudeval (Francia): quello di oggi nel suo formato più tradizionale, quello di domani invece con diverse novità riguardanti i concerti in programma a settembre e ottobre tra Regno Unito e Paesi Bassi, un brano inedito non incluso nel recentissimo EP Splendens Giganteum e tre video di chitarrismo fingerpicking offerti da amici e collaboratori. Su Twitch, alle ore 19.00.

https://www.bdrak.com
https://www.twitch.tv/bob_drake
https://www.youtube.com/@bob-drac

Non perde la propria tempra né l'impronta radicale delle origini in fatto di scelte musicali e di assetto organizzativo lo storico festival di jazz e musiche di improvvisazione Konfrontationen, al via oggi a Nickelsdorf (Austria) per l'edizione del 2025, la quarantacinquesima, con tre giorni fitti di concerti, incontri informali e iniziative varie: sono annunciati Alexander von Schlippenbach, Tobias Delius, Martin Siewert, Martin Brandlmayr, Joe Williamson, Isabelle Duthoit, Andy Moor, Seymour Wright, Pat Thomas, Klaus Filip, Burkhard Beins, Willi Kellers, Christian Fennesz, Lê Quan Ninh, Susanna Gartmayer, Franz Hautzinger, Elisabeth Harnik, John Edwards, Tony Buck, Wilbert de Joode, Magda Mayas e Georg Graewe tra gli altri. Qualcosa del programma lo si potrà seguire anche a distanza grazie a Radio Helsinki, nome anch'esso storico e caro ai sostenitori delle radio libere austriache.

https://www.konfrontationen.at/ko25
https://www.facebook.com/JazzgalerieNickelsdorf
https://helsinki.at/program/141244

Cinquant'anni del Moers Festival - storico appuntamento primaverile nel Nordreno-Vestfalia (Germania) con jazz, improvvisazione, world music, rock d'avanguardia e molto altro - raccontati non tanto in ordine logico/filologico quanto attraverso le storie, i ricordi, le immagini e le annotazioni personali di cinquanta suoi visitatori, testimoni casuali o diretti protagonisti: si intitola [re]visiting Moers Festival l'originale volume curato da Kerstin Eckstein e Kathrin Leneke in forma aperta e collettiva in linea con lo spirito da sempre poco ortodosso del festival. Lo si trova in edizione bilingue tedesco-inglese presso Wolke Verlag.

Das heute 50 Jahre alte Festival war von Beginn an darauf angelegt, ein Gegenentwurf zu sein und sich dem Mainstream zu verweigern. Stattdessen wollte es als großes (Sozial-)Experiment verstanden werden, in dem der Austausch von Akteur:innen und Zuschauer:innen Teil des Plans war. In [re]visiting Moers Festival geht es nicht um eine Meta-Erzählung. Es ist ein Gemeinschaftsprojekt, in dem Bühnenakteur:innen, Festivalbesucher:innen, -mitarbeiter:innen, -foto­graf:innen und weitere Zeitzeug:innen gleichberechtigt zu Wort kommen, deren Stimmen sich kaleidoskopartig zu einem Vielklang aus 50 Geschichten verdichten. Es ist ein Buch, in dem Menschen sich erinnern. Sie tun dies in ihrer jeweils ganz eigenen Art, mal eher aus der Distanz in Form eines Rückblicks, mal durch das Ein­tauchen in ein Damals, in dessen Zeit-Sprache noch niemand den Begriff Exot kritisch reflektierte oder ein Bewusstsein für das Gendern von Wörtern hatte. Mal ist es die Bündelung des Gefühls moers in den wenigen Zeilen eines Gedichts, mal die Erfindung einer moers-Formel oder der schnelle Strich eines Stifts, der in eine Zeichnung mündet. Unsere Arbeit bestand vor allem darin, diese Geschichten in Wort und Bild einzufangen und dem Buch einen Rhythmus zu geben, der dem raschen Takt der moers-Erzählungen dann und wann eine weiße Seite als Kontrast und Freiraum für eigene Erinnerungsfelder der Leser:innen hinzufügt.

https://www.moers-festival.de
https://www.wolke-verlag.de/revisiting-moers-festival

Già alla sua prima edizione su Stampa Alternativa una dozzina di anni fa la Storia del jazz disegnata da Stefano Zenni si imponeva come testo fondamentale per lo studio e la comprensione della musica afroamericana, capace di descriverne gli aspetti specificamente musicali e artistici assieme ai contesti storici e sociali che nelle diverse epoche - e alle varie latitudini - ne hanno favorito o condizionato la diffusione e l'evoluzione. La nuova versione del testo, riscritta con consistenti aggiunte e aggiornamenti, accosta la materia in prospettiva ancora più globale, approfondendo la conoscenza di opere e protagonisti e ampliando ulteriormente lo sguardo (così sfiorando le mille pagine!). L'autore è disponibile a presentarla in occasioni pubbliche nel corso dell'estate, come ha fatto qualche giorno fa dai microfoni di Rai Radio 1 (Il Mangiadischi, puntata dell'11 luglio). Nel frattempo il volume, giusto motivo di vanto per la piccola editrice di Macerata Quodlibet, è in distribuzione ovunque: in vetrina lo si nota di colpo, con quella bella copertina infuocata by Luciano Rossetti...

"In questa Storia del jazz Stefano Zenni si avvale di molteplici prospettive che tengono conto delle relazioni tra individui e movimenti geografici - dalle migrazioni intercontinentali alle dinamiche urbane locali -, degli intrecci tra generi, del legame tra improvvisazione e scrittura, chiarendo i rapporti con le altre musiche, dalla classica europea al rock. Per comprendere l’evoluzione del jazz è essenziale esplorare le intricate interazioni culturali e artistiche che ne hanno accompagnato lo sviluppo, dalle radici africane del XVI secolo fino alla sua nascita sul continente americano e alla sua diffusione a partire dal XX secolo. Questo processo va analizzato considerando i diversi contesti in cui si è sviluppato (club, sale da ballo, teatri), le figure professionali coinvolte (come produttori e manager), le dinamiche dell'industria musicale, nonché i legami con i movimenti politici. Stefano Zenni rielabora e sviluppa la ricerca svolta nella precedente edizione, presentandone una versione aggiornata, corretta e ampliata. In particolare, una nuova sezione si concentra sulla scena attuale, esaminando l’influenza dell’elettronica, le connessioni con l’hip hop, le figure di spicco della scena contemporanea negli Stati Uniti, le tangenze con la world music e l’emergere di nuove aree geografiche e stilistiche, dall’Africa al Nord Europa."

https://www.quodlibet.it